Legislators expect special session

ENRIQUE RANGEL

Saturday

May 25, 2013 at 9:15 PM

AUSTIN - The Texas Legislature worked on the budget bill and on dozens of other measures Saturday and though Democrats and Republicans said they were satisfied with what they will likely accomplish by midnight Monday when the 140-day session ends, they expect to be back for a special session to take care of unfinished business.

"We're on the eve of one of the most successful conservative sessions that we've ever had in decades and decades," said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, the presiding officer of the Senate.

Nonetheless, "there are still some things that I would like to see passed," Dewhurst told reporters.

"We were not able to pass a constitutional amendment to put in law what we've been doing by practice, and that is to keep our spending on our budget and inflation plus our population growth," he said. "We were not able to pass out drug testing for welfare recipients while still providing for the children, we should not pass out tax dollars to reward bad behavior.

Other important items left on the table include pro-life legislation, a bill that would allow people with concealed handgun licenses carry their firearms on college campuses; reforming the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, Dewhurst said.

The association - better known for its initials TWIA - is the state-funded insurer of last resort for about 250,000 Texans living in 14 counties along or near the coast who cannot purchase commercial insurance because they are considered a high risk during hurricane seasons.

Dewhurst, like members of the Texas Panhandle/South Plains delegation, said though they expect a special session soon, perhaps as early as Tuesday, only Gov. Rick Perry can call them back and decide what items are included on the agenda.

However, on Saturday, like the day before, Perry declined to comment if or when he would call one.

Like Dewhurst, members of the Texas Panhandle/South Plains delegation, said this was a productive session.

"We solved problems," said Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, a member of a joint legislative panel negotiating the state budget bill the Senate approved Saturday and the House votes on Sunday.

"We addressed problems in school finance, we addressed problems in higher education, we worked on a water plan for the future of the state of Texas," Duncan said. "There is still discussion about transportation funding and there are some opportunities there and so quite frankly we solved problems as opposed to being involved in partisan bickering."

Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, agreed.

"We have a balanced budget that puts more money into public schools, we are going to address growing enrollment in colleges, we completed 10 years of working around in community colleges, we're going to put more money into water infrastructure," Seliger added. "When the budget passes 29-2 (the initial vote in the Senate) that's a broad agreement."

GOP Reps. Charles Perry of Lubbock and Four Price of Amarillo said though they also expect the governor to call a special session, they, too, are satisfied with what was accomplished.

"I think it has been a productive session," Perry said. ""I think everybody is committed to finding solutions for long-term problems and we're getting there."

For Price, this session is no different than previous ones in terms of accomplishments and disappointments.

"There are certainly things that we could passed but overall made headway on what we are doing on the public health field, on public education and on criminal justice," Price said. "I would have liked to see more on transportation infrastructure, that's an area where we have some work to do but I really think we made some headway."

Democratic Reps. Garnet Coleman of Houston and Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio said what helped this session be successful is more money (in the 2011 session the Legislature faced a $27 billion shortfall) and the willingness of Democrats and Republicans to work together.

However, the spirit of bipartisanship could be tested if there is a special session on redistricting, Martinez Fischer warned.

"The fact of the matter is that no matter what we do here it will be challenged in court and we'll be back where we started," said Martinez Fischer, chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, a leading plaintiff in the two year-redistricting battle.

Like other Democrats, Martinez Fischer argues that a special session on redistricting should be after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on two major redistricting issues impacting the Texas redistricting plan of 2011. The high court is expected to rule on such issues in late June, nearly a month the current session ends.

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